The Walking Dead: A steam engine train would change the game

The Walking Dead survivors seem to have quite a few amenities after all this time in the apocalypse, but there’s one thing that could be a real game changer.

I recently watched the movie 28 Days Later and when the survivors of the outbreak are shuttled back and forth between safe zones the army uses a light rail system. Seeing this started me thinking about The Walking Dead and how a steam engine could become a mobile safe zone and a total game changer provided that all of the stars were aligned.

The army in 28 Days Later utilize a light rail transit system, but those systems rely on electric power to function. Unless there was ample electricity available, or someone MacGyvers a solar power system to power the trains, it’s not likely that light rail would provide a solution in The Walking Dead universe..

A steam engine, on the other hand, is powered by the energy created between steam and the pistons. Best of all, the “fuel” is water. With comprehensive rail systems in place across the country, all it would take is for a steam engine to be commandeered from a museum, fired up and placed into motion.

Getting a steam engine train to work wouldn’t be too difficult. The first steam engine train appeared in 1804 and was based upon steam engine technology dating all the way back to 1698. This is important because the same resources that existed back then would be available to the survivors now. There would be books about how steam engines work to help guide repairs and operate the machines. And since water is what generates the steam, it would be easy to keep the train moving in just about every climate.  (Not only that, but water can be stored and transported much easier than gas)

In terms of getting around, the network of railroad tracks across the country should still be functional. Aside from fallen trees, washed out tracks and the occasional stalled car, there’s no reason to suspect that the tracks can’t be used even if repairs are needed. It helps that many rail lines have been converted in recent years from wood to cement bases, making them even sturdier.

A train would be a game-changer for any group of zombie apocalypse survivors, and though that might seem a tad bit outlandish it’s not as uncommon in post-apocalyptic and otherworldly science-fiction as you might think.

In the upcoming TNT thriller Snowpiercer, based on a 2013 movie of the same name, a group of survivors travel around the globe on a train after Earth is consumed by a second Ice Age. The train is reflective of the social strata of society, with the upper class in the front and the lower classes riding in squalor the back. (Incidentally, TWD alum Steven Ogg joined the cast so be sure to check it out) There was also an episode of Doctor Who that featured a group of people flitting across the galaxy on their own space train.

If the survivors on The Walking Dead had access to a train they could travel across the country in a mobile safe zone, establishing colonies and crops in places where crops can thrive and most of all a train would be the perfect way to escape a herd. The train might make some noise, sure, but it has plenty of get-up and go to help flee when a quick escape is needed. In the case of The Walking Dead, the show’s resident tinkerer Eugene would be the ideal person to figure out how to get the train running, and soon there could very well be a fleet of trains crisscrossing the country. (I’m told Eugene found a train in the comics, so he might be putting a similar plan into motion there)

A train would be a game-changer for The Walking Dead, and it would open up a whole new world of possibilities.